Gold Rush

Goldfinger, from 1964, wasn’t the first Bond film—that honor goes to 1962’s Dr. No—but the third in a series that now numbers 27. What it did, however, was establish the formula of the Bond brand. Starring the incomparable Sean Connery, who died last week at age 90, Goldfinger equipped its hero with savvy gadgets, including a red button made all the more appealing by a warning from Q not to press it. Goldfinger was also the first Bond film to run an extensive opening-credits sequence, setting the standard for those that followed, and the first to win an Oscar (for best sound editing). But what it might be remembered for most is an epic car chase involving Bond in an Aston Martin DB5; the film’s villain, Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe); and Tilly Masterson (Tania Mallet), who shares a common enemy with Bond. Filmed on the narrow, winding roads of picturesque Switzerland in the summer of 1964, the sequence of six minutes and 37 seconds is the subject of a new book out now from Steidl. Featuring never-before-seen photographs by Hans Gerber, Josef Ritler, and Erich Kocian—in a rare move, photographers had been invited onto the set, resulting in a wealth of images—and the original typed screenplay, the book provides an illustrated history of the chase. Franck Hamilton, son of Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton, writes the foreword. —Julia Vitale